THE EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND HOMOSEXUALITY

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The EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH is a.k.a. the CHRISTIAN DISCIPLES

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The denomination:

The Evangelical Christian Church Inc. was founded on 1804-JUN-28, in
Bourbon County, KY, by Barton Warren Stone, a former Presbyterian minister. They
do not officially accept decisions by the early Church Councils, particularly in
the third and fourth centuries CE. Those matters are left
to individual interpretation. They oppose "capital punishment, military
intervention into foreign disputes, abortion and homosexuality....[They] advise
against the use of alcohol and tobacco. Modes of baptism and the frequency of
the Lord's Supper are left to the individual churches... Evangelical Christian
Churches are congregationally governed, noncreedal and semi-autonomous....The
only requirement for every local church is that the [denomination's] Statement
of Faith be strictly adhered to and the local church opposes abortion and
homosexuality."

They publish The Empty Tomb which is available online.

Policy on homosexuality:

Like almost all Evangelical Christian groups, the The Evangelical Christian
Church, Inc. (Christian Disciples) views "homosexuality" as a behavior rather
than as a sexual orientation. That is: "homosexuality" is something that a
person does; it is not something that a person is. They differ in this view from
gays, lesbians, liberal religious groups, human sexuality researchers and almost
all mental health therapists.

A knowledgeable member of the denomination has supplied us with a description
of the church's policy towards homosexual behavior:

The church is "unalterably opposed to homosexual activity."

They believe that homosexual behavior is "inconsistent with New
Testament Christianity and that attempts to legitimize such behavior by
corrupting the Greek language is inexcusable. It is our belief the Greek
language is best understood by the Greeks themselves rather than by
non-Greeks who have studied the language. Since the Greek Orthodox Church
opposes homosexuality we feel they are correct in terms of accurate
Biblical interpretation."

They note that all ancient Christian churches, such as the Holy
Apostolic Assyrian Catholic Church of the East, The Syrian Church, and the
Coptic Church, all oppose homosexuality.

The Evangelical Christian Church views all homosexual behavior as
sinful, whether it is engaged by a person who is single or in a committed
relationship.

Sexually active homosexuals are welcome to attend church services.
However, they are not eligible for "church membership, for ordination
to the Gospel ministry or to hold elective or appointive office."

The Church condemns "anything less than love, compassion, kindness
and mercy towards the gay and lesbian community. They renounce violence of
any kind toward the gay and lesbian community."

They call for full civil rights in the workplace and equal protection
under the law.

They do not support, endorse or condone same-sex civil unions. To our
knowledge, they are unique among conservative Christian denominations, in
that they support the constitutional right of gays and lesbians to marry.

The Evangelical Christian Church, however, will not bless, sanction or
recognize such unions or marriages.

Their church home page has a hyperlink labeled
"Research and Therapy of Homosexuality"
which leads to NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy
of Homosexuality. NARTH is alone among
professional mental health organizations in their belief that a person
with a homosexual orientation can change their orientation to
heterosexuality. They recommend reparative
therapy.